“They think they’re a step ahead,” he says, voice low and lethal. “They think they can play in the shadows while I rebuild myhouse. But they don’t know what I’ll do when I find out who touched what's mine.”
He stands, eyes blazing. “You’re sure it was after I took the photo?”
I nod. “Positive.”
A beat of silence stretches between us. Then he pulls out his phone, dials fast, his voice a growl. “Check the surveillance grid. I want every camera within a five-block radius of the gallery and her apartment. Scrub the metadata.”
I swallow, nerves coiling tight. “What if they already have a copy? What if this was just the start?”
Luca turns to me slowly, his eyes like steel through smoke. “Then we stop waiting.”
His phone buzzes. He answers, listens—just a second.
Then: “We’ve got movement. Someone just accessed a Moretti vault code from New York.”
My blood runs cold.
“They’re not running,” Luca says, sliding a gun into his jacket. “They’re coming.”
And I know what that means. No more warnings. No more shadows. This is the part where blood answers blood—and this time, we decide who bleeds.
And next time, they won’t miss.
18
--------
The Kill File
The sound of footsteps approach. Turk appears in the doorway, jaw tight, eyes alert.
“We traced the vault ping,” Turk says. “Whoever it was knew exactly what they were doing. Bypassed three encrypted layers. Only two people had that kind of access.”
Luca’s voice is razor-sharp. “Who?”
Turk hesitates. “Your cousin, Matteo… and your dad.”
My breath catches. “My father is dead.”
Turk nods grimly. “Which means either he left someone the key… or someone stole it.”
A cold dread coils in my gut. “That’s not all, is it?”
“No,” Turk replies. “The code they used—it unlocked Vault Twelve.”
Luca freezes. I see it—the shift. A crack in the armor.
“What’s in Vault Twelve?” I ask, heart thudding.
Luca doesn’t answer right away. “The kill file.” Every name, every bribe, every betrayal tied to the Five Families.”
“They can burn us all,” Turk finishes. “From the inside out.”
A beat of silence passes. Then Luca’s eyes lock on mine, fire and fury behind them.
“They’re not just coming for us. They’re coming to rewrite history.”
He turns back to Turk. “Get Sal. Tighten security around Daniel and Giuliana.